Manchester United‘s dismal start to the 2026/27 season continued on Tuesday evening as they were beaten 2-0 by Atletico Madrid in the Spanish capital.
Having won their Champions League opener back in early September by beating Azerbaijani minnows Sabah, United were looking to build further up the European standings with more points, but they were humbled by the increase in opposition ability.
Goals from Pablo Barrios and Ademola Lookman downed the Red Devils, while Lenny Yoro was sent off in the 74th minute for preventing a clear goal scoring opportunity to make the chase more difficult.
The result deepened United’s woes, as the club sits 13th in the Premier League table, having won just one of their first six matches of the domestic campaign so far.
Following the defeat to Atleti, defender Lisandro Martinez was ruthless in his assessment of United’s current problems, taking aim at club hierarchy with his brutal criticism of their early-season struggles.
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Lisandro Martinez calls out Man United transfer chiefs
After their defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on October 13, Man United defender Lisandro Martinez ruthlessly blasted the club’s transfer strategy for not bringing in a quality squad.
During his postmatch television interview, when asked how he would sum up the performance, he put it plainly. “Really poor, really poor,” he said reflectively. “I have to question myself a lot, but sometimes it is a reflection of the mural of how is our club at the moment. We did a fantastic season last season, and now we expect more from the top, from up, to bring in more players to compete because many teams bring many players as well.
“I expect more from everyone,” he continued. When pressed for clarification by the interviewer if he “expected more investment in the squad in the summer,” he replied, “yes 100 percent. I expect more from our technical director, I have to be honest. As the players we have to do more, but it’s also important when you make a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night.”
“Last season we did everything,” Martinez continued, “we created the base to build an amazing team. It’s annoying, disappointing coming here and my team trying to get an amazing result here, and it’s disappointing.”
When asked if the manager wasn’t backed enough in terms of investment, Martinez said, “I don’t think so, he [Michael Carrick] does his best, but every season is different. You can say what you did last season, but the [opposing] teams know how you play, know every details, and if you don’t change, next season it’s a big problem.
“You can change, change, change the manager, but what about other areas? I cannot say more.”
Lisandro Martínez did NOT hold back after United’s loss to Atletico 😬👀 https://t.co/OGo25Pzd30
— Prime Video Sport UK (@primevideosport) October 13, 2026
The knock-on effect here is interesting. By criticizing the Man United transfer strategy, Martinez is, by proxy, criticizing the squad for being below standards. He may be trying to back his teammates and placing the blame elsewhere, but he has inadvertently thrown his teammates under the bus in the process.
Who is Man United technical director?
The Manchester United technical director that Lisandro Martinez took aim at in his postmatch interview is Jason Wilcox.
The 55-year-old has been in his role since 2024, when he was hired by INEOS to work alongside sporting director Dan Ashworth, but that partnership didn’t last long as Ashworth departed the club soon after.
Before joining Man United, Wilcox spent a short time as Southampton director of football, where he joined from Man City where he spent a stint as academy director.
Martinez comments slammed by Man United legend Wayne Rooney
It didn’t take long for opposition to Lisandro Martinez’s comments to come pouring out from the Man United punditry.
One titanic voice standing up against the criticism was Wayne Rooney, who did not take kindly to the attack on the club’s hierarchy.
“It’s a difficult one because I always used to feel like I was outspoken as a player and you want to have your opinion, but I think he’s maybe gone too far,” Rooney said in response to the Argentine’s comments. “That should be down to the manager, and that should stay internal because the fans want to hear the players speak and they want to see them care.
“He clearly cares and wants the club to invest more money and more players, and if they do that, I think he’ll be one of the players out of the door if I’m being honest with his performances. His performances haven’t been good enough but I think in some ways he is right, in terms of the club need to invest more at the top end of the pitch and in defence as well.
“I think it looks like that was a bit of an agenda from him because that doesn’t mirror the performance. I thought the performance was better. I think it’s a bit disrespectful to his team-mates as well because he’s disrespecting his team-mates, he’s saying they’re not good enough.
“I think Bruno [Fernandes] is probably the only one who has any right coming out and saying something like that, if I’m being honest as captain. And even then it should be behind closed doors if there are issues, which does happen. Players have conversations with the manager, the manager then has a conversation with the board. But that interview there, it’s not going to help the situation the club is in at the minute.”
